Latest news with #LindsayTrout
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Business
- Newsweek
More Women Are Becoming CFOs and CEOs But the Path Forward Remains Murky
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Women are making their mark in the executive ranks, but the fervor and effort behind improving representation in the corporate world took a slight hit as the national investment in DEI investment slowed after the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Many fairly wonder if the future will include more progress. Both the labor market and consumers continue to express their interest in working for and patronizing diverse companies that represent their customers, so companies must make an intentional effort to build stronger leadership pipelines for women and other underrepresented groups to drive meaningful improvement. Lindsay Trout, a partner and talent consultant at executive search firm Egon Zehnder, recently told Axios that search committees are less interested in diverse candidate pools, saying "that is not part of the conversation or expectation," and the committees are also providing requirements such that, "you end up with a list that inevitably excludes females from consideration." In 1972, Katherine Graham became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company at the Washington Post. A lot has changed since then: The Post is no longer one of the world's largest companies, technology has reshaped the working world and the representation of women in the corporate executive ranks has trickled up but is still not anywhere close to equitable. Today, 55 women serve as Fortune 500 CEOs, the highest number ever, following a net gain of three from last year and marking the first time female representation has exceeded 10 percent. Experts point to an increase in internal promotions and a rise in women assuming pipeline roles such as CFO as signs that internal development of female leadership is on the rise in the corporate realm. But they also note that growth has been up and down over the last few years and other indices, such as the S&P 500, suggest that growth has stagnated or is merely happening at random instead of consistently progressing. Women are making some progress in executive representation at major companies, but it has been gradual. Women are making some progress in executive representation at major companies, but it has been gradual. Getty Images While the overall picture is one of progress, the incredibly gradual crawl of this figure, along with similarly inconsistent growth in other indicators such as female entrepreneurship, securing venture capital funding or admission into prestigious incubators, indicate a more principled and foundational approach to equity in executive representation is needed. Graham was born into a wealthy family. Her father was the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve before buying the Washington Post and later handing the reins to his son-in-law, Philip, Katherine's husband. That path is not exactly replicable. Companies are doing a better job of placing women into the roles that typically come before a CEO hire, like CFO. Progress in these feeder roles is crucial in order to continue growing female representation in the executive ranks.
Axios
14 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
The job market is brutal for women executives
It's a brutal time for women executives and others who don't neatly fit the stereotypical ideal of a leader. Why it matters: Not only has the zeal for diversity that's defined the past decade faded, but backlash from the White House has made firms even less willing to take risks on "nontraditional" candidates, including women, people of color and LGBTQ+ people. The big picture: For years, executive recruiters were asked to find diverse slates to fill the top spots inside U.S. companies, moving up the numbers, if only slightly, inside these firms. That's not happening anymore, says Lindsay Trout, a partner and talent consultant at executive search firm Egon Zehnder, who finds candidates at the C-suite and board level for large companies. How it works: A board running a search for a CEO will draw up a list of specifications for candidates. They might say, "We're looking for public company CEOs who are in the tech industry at companies that are at X scale," Trout explains. Go with those specs and "you end up with a list that inevitably excludes females from consideration." It would be like looking for someone to head an NGO and only considering those with experience as a U.S. president or secretary of state. Zoom out: For a few years, firms would also say they would like to consider a "diverse slate" so you could bring in other qualified candidates with potential who did not exactly meet the criteria. "Now that is not part of the conversation or expectation," Trout says. "I took my pronouns out of my resume," an editorial leader who was recently hunting for jobs tells Axios, asking for anonymity to speak freely while still searching. They decided to "tone it down," feeling like being too openly queer was hurting the search. They locked down a contract job soon after making those adjustments, though it was not clear if that was a factor. Zoom in: There was rising backlash and some fatigue at the board level even before President Trump took office in January and made ending DEI efforts a priority. "People are generally satisfied with the progress that they have made," Trout says. Context: After a surge of appointments in 2020 and 2021, companies are now naming fewer women and people of color to their boards, Axios reported last year. Some firms have started to reverse course. At Meta, women make up 23% of board directors. Just a few years ago in 2022, that figure was 44%. Over the past year, no women CEOs were recruited into Fortune 500 firms. The ones who nabbed that top spot were internal hires. Between the lines: The process of looking for diverse slates did drive some resentment and likely hurt some men. "It probably is true that equally as compelling white male talent didn't get the nod" for board roles, Trout says. Reality check: Many large companies have continued to defend DEI efforts, at least from shareholder attacks. Not all firms have walked away from this work, says Jennifer McCollum, CEO of Catalyst, a nonprofit that advocates for women in the workplace. Scaling back entirely from DEI can lead to increased risks on the legal side, as well as talent loss and reputational damage, she says.
